Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming MQA without Sooloos or Roon?

What is the best way to stream MQA without Sooloos or Roon?

Since Sooloos no longer supports Tidal how can I stream MQA without using Roon. I can of course keep my MD600 and stream my personal music library but it seems a bit redundant now.

It appears that the 818 Reference Audio Core uses the Sooloos ID41 card that works with Roon and/or Sooloos via the MD600 then through the router and the RJ45 port is that correct?
So if I bypass the ID41 card and use the USB or digital audio inputs will the 818 still play full MQA?

I am thinking of removing the MD600 from the system and using another streaming device, probably something from Aurender.

Regards,
Fred

Fred,

I was using the MD600 for storing my music collection and Tidal via Sooloos on my Ultra DAC. When Sooloos no longer supported Tidal I purchased the Roon Nucleus and installed an SSD for my music and streamed through the ID41. The improvement in sound quality was significant whether streaming Tidal or playing downloads.

Now I use the Antipodes K50 as my server and Roon for streaming and again there was improvement in the sound quality over the Nucleus but not as much as getting off of the Sooloos app and the MD600. The Ultra DAC will play MQA streamed from Tidal through all its digital inputs using Roon with MQA enabled.

I believe Aurender supports MQA for streaming but I have no experience with it. Others can confirm its functionality for MQA.

My point is you will have a significant improvement in sound quality by replacing the MD600 and Sooloos as your storage and streaming.

Mark

Mark,

Thank you for your prompt reply. You have a great system with the Antipodes K50 server and the Ultra DAC, unfortunately for me such a top product is outside my budget.

I agree with you that the MD600 is the weak link in my system and I plan on replacing it with the Aurender M150 that supports MQA for streaming and hoping that the sound quality improves.

It’s a pity that Meridian no longer supports Sooloos so making my investment in the MD600 worthless.

Regards,
Fred

Mr Tech Guy can update the internal hardware so they are able to run Roon, if that's a route you wished to consider.

Regards,
Carl

Fred,

I do not see any Aurender M150?

I found that internal storage sounds better than external storage.

I also found that the re-clocking of the ethernet signal was best in the K50, despite the Ultra DAC having a very good clock. I only use the digital inputs on the Ultra DAC that are re-clocked by my K50.

I gave my MD600 to someone on the Forum that could use it, since I no longer needed it.

Mark

Mark,

No wonder you cannot find the Aurender M150 as it does not exist, it should of course be the N150 which is the replacement for the N100H.

The N150 has an uprated power supply and CPU along with a bigger internal SSD with a M.2 PCI interface, a better audio out USB and other upgrades to the mother board.

Regards,
Fred

Carl,

Yes, I did look at Roon, I even bought an Intel NUC and gave it a try but I did not feel comfortable with it. I did find the Roon forum very helpful with a lot of information.

Regards,
Fred

Fred,
If it is possible to compare the N150 with one of the models that have the internal OCXO clock it might be interesting.
Mark

If it helps I currently run a Bluesound node2.

That has Tidal on the bluOS app which can stream MQA from Tidal to Bluesound to 218 (MQA light comes on) then to my DSP5200SE.

This was how I was able to get round the Sooloos dropping Tidal.

Regards
David